At a panel hosted by producers Participant Media later in the week, Guggenheim explained that 10 years after The First Year, he realized that nothing seemed to have changed with the public schools and, "I needed to talk about those uncomfortable truths."
The film does indeed explore controversial territory, with much of the blame for system failure laid on the teachers' unions. But the film also offers hope, in the stories of inspirational teachers and school leaders who are trying to innovate through charter schools and special programs.
Guggenheim essentially weaves two different movies together: the story of a group of kids waiting to find out if they win the charter school lottery, and a more logical film that delves into the complex questions of why the dysfunction in American public schools exists. The interplay between the two makes for compelling movie-watching, as you see the facts and figures play out as real-life consequences in the stories of the children.
There are a few voices missing from the film. There are many incredible, dedicated teachers working in U.S. public schools, and we don't hear their side of the story in this film. Guggenheim also does not delve into issues of peer pressure or apathetic parents. Instead, he's chosen to focus on families who desperately want more, who have dreams, who yearn to make their lives better. Their combination of hope and frustration is palpable, and by the time the film climaxes in the lottery, many a tear was being shed in the theater (including several by yours truly).
This is an important film, but it's also powerful storytelling, and that's why you should see it. Guggenheim said during the panel, "We start making films like this because we want to change a great social injustice. But you can't tell the audience what to do. So instead, you tell them a great story and hopefully, that will lead them to action."
The day started with snow and ended with snow...in between, my attention drifted, Catfish received an avalanche of applause and luckily, no one flaked.
I began the day with the world premiere public screening of Catfish, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, which is playing in the Spotlight section. The film follows the adventures of Nev (rhymes with "Steve"), a 24-year old New York-based photographer, when an eight-year old girl from Michigan contacts him asking permission to paint one of his photos. Eventually, he becomes friends (online) with her whole family. The filmmakers requested that we not reveal the details of the story so as not to ruin it for others, but it's not giving anything away to say that when everyone finally meets face-to-face, the family is not quite what Nev expected.
Nev Schulman, subject of Catfish
Catfish is a story about how we live NOW - an age where technology touches almost every aspect of our communication with one another. At the same time, it's a classic doc of discovery, a personal story about connection, relationships and deceit. The film earned a standing ovation from the audience. A big reason that it works is because Nev is an incredibly appealing subject to follow - he's funny, attractive and not shy about revealing his inner emotions in front of the camera. I'll be talking to the Catfish filmmakers later in the week, so stay tuned for a closer look.
And speaking of later, more on attention drift and YouTube in a bit...heading off for a screening of Waiting for Superman, David Guggenheim's new doc which was picked up at the start of the fest by Paramount Vantage.
Saturday afternoon, I headed over to New Frontiers for "Cross Platform and Transmedia Storytelling for Filmmakers," a panel that looked at several innovative projects making use of online tools to tell stories in new and innovative ways. Produced by Jigsaw Global, the panel was part of Digital Dive, an immersive series of workshops aimed at helping filmmakers improve their digital media literacy. During the panel, Wieden + Kennedy delved into the marketing strategy for Coraline, Jason Yim (President/Exec. Creative Dir, Trigger LA) showed off cutting edge content created for District 9, and MTV's EVP of New Media David Gale outlined the production process for $5 Cover, a multi-platform series for the network comprised of both narrative and documentary content.
and directed by Lynn Shelton, will debut later this year.
After a full day of films and panels, I headed over to decompress at an intimate party co-hosted by IDA and ro*co films, graciously presented at Sundance House by HP. The event celebrated the documentary filmmakers at the fest, and featured a live performance from singer Dana Parish.
Afterwards, I joined Ryan Harrington and the crew from the Tribeca Film Festival for cocktails celebrating the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, before ending the night with a visit to the Digital Dive Wrap Party at the New Frontier on Main and the Late Night Filmmaker Lounge.
What happens when an actor who becomes famous for playing a movie star on a hit TV series decides to make a documentary about a pint-sized paparazzi photographer? You get Teenage Paparazzo, Adrian Grenier's thoughtful, entertaining exploration of celebrity and culture.
When Grenier meets 14 year-old "pap" Austin Visschedyk, instead of telling him to go smash his camera, the actor befriends him, hoping to learn more about the symbiotic relationship between celebs and the media who anoint them. Now, the idea of a 14 year-old stalking Paris and Britney may seem ridiculous, but Austin is deadly serious about his work. He knows his camera equipment inside and out, has earned the respect of the other paps and has no hesitation about risking his life chasing down limos to get that lucrative money shot.
Adrian Grenier, director of Teenage Paparazzo
As Grenier immerses himself in Austin's world, which includes support from his mother Jane for his late night stalker-azzi activities "as long as he doesn't do drugs," Grenier begins to understand the motivations that drive those who supply the photos for US Weekly and OK! Magazine. For some it's the adrenaline rush of getting the shot; for others it's about putting food on the table. Some just like breaking the rules. There's camaraderie between the photographers, as they communicate by cell and text to alert one another of the latest whereabouts of Lindsey and Nicole. Doormen, parking attendants and security personnel form an unofficial support team, tipping off Austin as to when a star might be sneaking out of the building.
In addition to accompanying Austin on his nightly stakeouts, Grenier visits media professors, anthropologists and tabloid publishers to explore America's fascination with celebrities from a different angle (pun intended). One of the professors suggests that as we move from the era of the small town where people gossiped about the town drunk, to the era of the Internet, celebrities are the people we now have in common. Ultimately, it's the exchange that we have about them with one another that is much more important than the specific celebrity we gossip about.
Grenier and Austin Visschedyk
During the course of filming Teenage Paparazzo, Austin himself becomes a bit of a celebrity. He's offered a reality show, and featured in a number of news stories as the "wunderkind pap." The more attention he receives, the less cooperative he becomes about shooting the documentary. In a bizarre twist, Grenier realizes that he and his subject's roles have reversed. Usually, Grenier is the famous one trying to avoid the cameras; now, he must convince Austin to let him keep filming so he can finish the project.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Grenier, an ardent documentary fan, to talk about his film and his work. Keep you eye out for a Doc Shot later this week.
DocuDays™ Los Angeles 2010, Friday, March 5 & Saturday, March 6 at the Writers Guild of America Theater, 135 S. Doheny Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
DocuDays™ New York 2010, Saturday, March 6 & Sunday, March 7 at The Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
Check back on our DocuDays™ page for the latest info and updates!
I had visions of shooting a scenic video diary full of beautiful, snowy images; walking and talking amidst the snowflakes about the films I've seen at the fest so far...but then I realized that walking on slippery slush & not looking at the ground is a recipe for disaster!! Here's a glimpse of what it's like getting around up here at the festival, courtesy of my iPhone...
Bumpy flight aside, the journey here was a great start to the festival. It was filled with enthusiastic Sundance-goers, including the filmmaking team from Douchebag (U.S. Dramatic Competition). We met several years ago when I interviewed them at a Gen Art event for the now defunct iklipz.com, and it's great to see them progressing in their creative careeres. It's accidental reunions such as these that are one of my favorite parts of Sundance.
This year, the fest tried something new for Opening Night: they showed one dramatic selection, one doc and one shorts program. I headed over to the screening of Restrepo, Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's intense doc which follows the men of Battle Company while they are stationed in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Junger and Hetherington had incredible access, making 10 trips over the course of 15 months. More about the film when I'm awake and thinking clearly.
I'm also going to try something new this year: getting a decent amount of sleep - at least for the first few days. Last year, I had the misfortune to get really sick during Sundance, and it SUCKS. And apparently, I'm not the only one who things so! Over on the Sundance Film Festival blog, Mike Jones has a piece about "Surviving Sundance," complete with tips about how to avoid gettin' ill.
Participant Media is teaming up with Entertainment Weekly to host an exclusive event on January 24 where the four filmmakers will chat about their upcoming releases and take questions from the attendees--and questions sent in via Twitter (possibly from you).
They are collecting questions on Twitter from now until January 24 at 6 pm, and a handful of your 140 character Qs will be asked that night. They will be live tweeting the entire discussion so you can follow the conversation and see if your question gets answered!
Here's how to TakePart:
1. Log on to Twitter
2. Tweet your question and include #participant. (We can't see your question if it doesn't have #participant!) If you are addressing a specific director, include their initials (ex: A question for Davis Guggenheim would start: "DG: Why did you decide to make a film about education? #participant"
3. Follow the discussion by searching for #participant (You can go to http://search.twitter.com and enter "#participant" in the search bar)
And if you are not on Twitter, don't fret! You can leave your question as a comment in this article about the event.
The Cove continues its phenomenal run of awards, adding four Cinema Eye Honros to its burgeoning collection. Burma VJ, another lkauded doc this past year, took two Honors, as did October Country. Here's the complete list:
2010 Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking:
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking: The Cove (Dir.: Louie Psihoyos; Prods.: Paula DuPre Pesmen, Fisher Stevens)
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film: October Country (Dirs.: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher)
Outstanding Achievement in Direction: Agnès Varda (The Beaches of Agnès)
Outstanding Achievement in Production: Paula DuPre Pressman, Fisher Stevens (The Cove)
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Brook Aitken (The Cove)
Outstanding Achievement in Editing: Janus Billeskov-Jansen, Thomas Papapetros (Burma VJ)
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Animation: Tie: Big Star (Food, Inc.) and RIP - Remix Manifesto
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score: October Country ( Danny Grody, Donal Mosher, Michael Palmieri, Kenric Taylor)
Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature: Burma VJ (Dir.: Anders Ostergaard; Prod.: Lise-Lense Moeller)
Audience Choice Prize: The September Issue (Dir.: R.J. Cutler)
Spotlight Award: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (Dir.: Jessica Oreck)
Cinema Eye Legacy Award: Sherman's March (Dir.: Ross McElwee)
HBO recently announced that it will produce and air a follow-up to When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, Spike Lee's epic 2006 portrait of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. The production, which shooting January 15 in New Orleans, is slated to air this August to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the tragedy.
Lee is on board to produce and direct the film on behalf of his company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, and Sam Pollard will produce and edit; Terence Blanchard returns to compose the score. When the Levees Broke aired on HBO a year after Katrina, and went on to receive three Emmys and the IDA Pare Lorentz Award.
"When the Levees Broke was a landmark in documentary filmmaking," noted HBO executive producer Sheila Nevins, in a statement. "It's an exciting notion to anticipate Spike going back for this reprise."
"Sam Pollard and I are elated to return to New Orleans and the other Gulf States to pick up where we left with When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," said Lee. "This coming August 29, 2010, will be five years since one of the greatest American tragedies. If God is willing and the creek don't rise, we will reach the same level of heartfelt stories--human stories told by the great people of The Gulf States."
The new film, as yet untitled, will revisit some of the people who appeared in When the Levees Broke to find out what has happened to their lives since then. The documentary will look at the progress and failures in education, housing and population relocation, and spotlight New Orleans' indomitable spirit. Going beyond the boundaries of the city, the film will also visit the devastated Gulf Coast area.